12/21/24
January 05, 2010
The Big Unit is retiring.: With a 303-166 record, 4,785 strikeouts, and five Cy Young Awards he should be a first-ballot HOF lock.
posted by mr_crash_davis to baseball at 10:49 PM - 13 comments
while I would think that he'd be a unanimous HOF selection, you know some dumb ass writer is going to withhold their vote.
posted by dviking at 12:40 AM on January 06, 2010
Absolutely guarantee that at least 2% of the voters will withhold their vote for him.
I just wonder if they meet ahead of time to determine who gets to be the dumbass that year.
posted by grum@work at 01:39 AM on January 06, 2010
Shout out to RJ for being the most dominant Lefty of my lifetime. Has been fun watching him pitch all these years.
posted by DudeDykstra at 03:59 AM on January 06, 2010
Understandable, although still a bit sad. He had flashes of greatness in the last couple of years, but he was just too far past his prime to be consistently "Randy Johnson". That's the thing about the great ones: in their twilight years they're still effective above league average, but the pain or age or pride or simple boredom just grow too much and they finally hang up their cap.
He had nothing left to play for except maybe trying to reach that 5,000K plateau. He had the WS ring- and the WS MVP to go with it. He had the 300 wins- with the 4th best winning % in that group- and nearly 5,000Ks. 5 Cy Youngs, numerous ERA and K titles and a consistent place among the league leaders, hell he even had a 20K game and a perfect game to boot! And he achieved these longevity stats all while being not just consistently very good to great like Maddux or Clemens, but being arguably the most dominating "You have to win one game" pitcher of all time (arguably, because I think the Pedro Martinez of 1999-2003 was literally the greatest pitcher that ever lived). That and other achievements leave him third behind only Walter Johnson and Roger Clemens in the "HoF Monitor"
That he was also an apparently happily married family man who was untainted by any allegations of PED use makes this is so open-and-shut it's not even funny. As I think of it, I realize that there is literally nothing I can ding him with. His peaks were ungodly, his counting stats obscene, his moments in the limelight (1995 and 2001 in particular) were staggering, and his year-in and year-out performance was fantastic. At least with Bonds and Clemens- for my money the best player and best pitcher that ever put on a uniform- the PED thing muddies the water a little. But that's not the case with Randy Johnson.
grum@work: Absolutely guarantee that at least 2% of the voters will withhold their vote for him.No kidding. Like the Hobo Slayer's candidacy, the only thing to determine is what assholes will be crotchety with their ballots. Someone should start a "Why not Randy?" campaign to make him the first 100% player, because he's as good a candidate as any.I just wonder if they meet ahead of time to determine who gets to be the dumbass that year.
I think the HoF voting, like the MVP voting, would be a lot smarter if anyone on the wrong end of a 93% vote lost their voting privileges for 1 year, 3 years for 95%, and 5 years for 97%. At 98%, you lose the right to ever vote again because you're obviously insane or simply senile.
posted by hincandenza at 05:35 AM on January 06, 2010
Still say the 1-2 punch of Johnson and Curt Schilling in the Diamondbacks World Series win over the Yankees was the most dominant and imposing there has been. When Johnson was at his best, nobody wanted to get in the box to face him, and lefties were petrified.
posted by dyams at 06:05 AM on January 06, 2010
As I think of it, I realize that there is literally nothing I can ding him with.
The mullet.
posted by rcade at 09:10 AM on January 06, 2010
What was that one player/coaches comments about Randy? Something like "pitching is easy...all you have to do is be 6'7" and paint black." Imagine how scary it was for left-handers to face him. He's so tall that he's got a release point about 2 foot from your face and he's throwing upper 90's with pretty good control.
(arguably, because I think the Pedro Martinez of 1999-2003 was literally the greatest pitcher that ever lived)
I'd argue Maddux and his stretch that included the one-five-something ERA.
a) it was about as dominant, when you compare against league average
b) it was a longer streak
Although I guess I'd take any of the 3, if you "forced" me too :-)
posted by bdaddy at 09:23 AM on January 06, 2010
A comparison of the best 4-year pitching performances, since integration.
Sandy Koufax : 1963-1966
Bob Gibson : 1966-1969
Tom Seaver : 1970-1973
Greg Maddux : 1992-1995
Pedro Martinez : 1997-2000
Randy Johnson : 1999-2002
Roger Clemens great 1-, 2-, and 3-year performances (and a lot of them), but doesn't run off a comparable 4-year set to this group.
(I'm sure there are others, but I can't find any that immediately jump out and make the same statement as these ones.)
posted by grum@work at 09:52 AM on January 06, 2010
As I think of it, I realize that there is literally nothing I can ding him with.
The mullet.
He was less than kind to our feathered friends. Hair or avian.
posted by yerfatma at 10:39 AM on January 06, 2010
The Big Unit is retiring.:
... and left handed batters everywhere are cheering. RJ was probably the leading cause of game day illness to left handed hitters. Only the great plague epidemic of the 15th century was worse.
posted by Howard_T at 03:32 PM on January 06, 2010
We don't realize it now, perhaps, but RJ will always have his own special place in baseball history. He's such an outlier - there is no other pitcher he compares with. One of the oddest pitchers to ever pitch, with some of the oddest collection of memorable moments (Kruk, exploding pigeon, perfect game at 40, etc.) ended up being one of the greatest pitchers of all-time.
I celebrate the man's entire catalog.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:26 PM on January 06, 2010
Does this sound like the start of a HOF career?
6 seasons, 68-56 record, 108 ERA+, 5.2 BB/9IP, before turning 30.
I'd say his odds of turning into a HOF pitcher were probably 1000-to-1.
16 seasons, 235-110 record, 147 ERA+, 2.6 BB/9IP (and 11.0 K/9IP!), from age 30 and beyond.
The only other pitchers to have such an AMAZING turnaround after turning 30 are:
Phil Neikro
31-27 before 30 (5 seasons, but only 55 starts)
287-247 age 30 and beyond (19 seasons)
Jamie Moyer
34-54 before 30 (6 seasons, 111 starts, including spending his entire age 29 season in the minors)
224-141 age 30 and beyond (17 seasons)
posted by grum@work at 01:02 AM on January 07, 2010
With a 303-166 record, 4,785 strikeouts, and five Cy Young Awards he
should be awill be a stone-cold first-ballot HOF lock.The only way it doesn't happen is if someone finds out he was dealing steroids to Little League players, or he's been "assisting" Greg Maddux in the off-seasons.
He will also immediately leap to the top of the heap as the ugliest man in the Hall of Fame, dethroning the current champ.